Name/Title
Tailor's IronEntry/Object ID
2006.5.0062Description
Metal tailor's irons with twisted handles. It is stamped with "ACW 16" to indicate it weighs 16 pounds.Context
Several members of the Simons family made clothes or cleaned them for a living. Charles Hall
Simons (1865-1933) was a tailor under R.J. Palmer (1849–1928) from 1888 until 1903. Soon after, Charles became an independent owner of a tailor shop and grocery at 1407 Richland Street. His brother, John Lucius Simons, Sr. (1859-c.1925), also worked as a tailor. These irons are believed to have been owned and used by either Charles, John Lucius, or their mother, Agnes Jackson Simons (1831-1907), when she was a laundress.
Both John and Charles were deacons at the First Calvary Baptist Church. According to family descendant Robbie Atkinson (1926-2021), "Uncle Charlie [Charles H. Simons] and Uncle Laces [John Lucius Simons]…those two…were the two, who was always in competition. Sibling rivalry..." Additionally, Robbie stated "Uncle Laces’ [John Lucius Simons’] children … [were] well dressed, because he [John] was a tailor” (Atkinson 1998:9).
Two irons (2006.5.0174 and 2006.5.0062) were salvaged, preserved, and donated to the Mann-Simons Cottage in 1983 by Mabel Payne (1909-2004), a Columbia area preservationist associated with saving the Robert Mills House and many other historic homes in Columbia. The Mann-Simons Cottage Museum of African American Culture was the operating name of the home at 1403 Richland Street, prior to Historic Columbia assuming contractual stewardship of the site in 1996. Under Historic Columbia, the house and surrounding area is now known as the Mann-Simons Site, which uses family pieces such as these irons, oral history, archaeological remains, and ghost structures of since-demolished buildings to tell the story of the Mann and Simons families.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
EmbossedTranscription
ACW
16Dimensions
Height
9 inWidth
2 inWeight
16 lbRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Agnes Jackson Simons, John Lucius Simons, Charles Hall Simons, Mabel PayneRelated Places
Place
Location
Mann Simons SiteCity
Columbia, South Carolina
